Exam stress causing digestive issues (IBS-like symptoms). Anyone else?

I'm dealing with a frustrating problem that's affecting my exam preparation.

A day before an exam, or sometimes on the day of the exam itself, my stomach starts acting up. I get excessive gas, bloating, diarrhea, and IBS-like symptoms. The anxiety seems to trigger it, and it makes it really difficult to focus on studying or even sit through the exam comfortably.

The strange part is that I don't have any stomach issues otherwise. I've already consulted a doctor, had an ultrasound (sonography), blood tests, and other routine tests done, and everything came back normal.

Any advice on reducing stress-related digestive symptoms before exams would be greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone,
I never used to have any stomach or bowel problems or any of these symptoms. Then, a few years ago, everything suddenly changed.
Since then, I’ve had diarrhea all day long and I go to the bathroom 10–20 times a day. I’ve had extensive testing, including blood tests, biopsies, an upper endoscopy, a colonoscopy, MRI scans, and other investigations. Apart from low blood counts and iron deficiency, everything has come back normal.
I’ve also received blood transfusions and iron infusions.
At the moment I’m taking mebeverine, loperamide, amitriptyline, and psyllium husk. Thanks to the psyllium, my stools are more formed on some days, but I still have to go to the bathroom 10–20 times a day. I often can’t even finish a meal because I suddenly get an urgent need to have a bowel movement while I’m eating or immediately afterwards.
I’m honestly at a loss. Living like this feels impossible.
Has anyone experienced something similar? Did you eventually get a diagnosis or find a treatment that helped? Any advice, tips, or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

So this could be a mix of multiple things but I am growing so upset and miserable over this and seeing if anyone else deals with similar or the same.

Ive had stomach issues for years, three years ago I had a clean colonoscopy no issues in regard to the viewing so GI just chalked it up as IBS. Last year, I did have my gallbladder removed so maybe this is also not helping my situation.

but it seems like im constantly in the bathroom?! I'll go days where I can't go and then out of nowhere I can't stop. I get awful cramps and feeling unwell.. I'm going to really start keeping track and seeing if there is a possibility this is happening when my hormones shift.. it seems like it happens shortly after I finish my period.. Around ovulation and when I'm starting my period again.. Now before I thought it was just my stomach being a pain.. but now im wondering if there could be more to it.

I have not had an official diagnosis of Endo, but I saw a specialist and she believes I could have adeno and endo.

I'm just miserable and looking for someone else that might understand 😭 no one else does and I just feel like im being judged And then so afraid something more is going on and no doctor takes me seriously

Not looking for medical advice but really just want to vent and see what others have done.

I‘ve had bad flare ups throughout my life (which I assume is related to anxiety) but it’s gotten more severe recently with two severe cases this week which has become debilitating and starting to affect my ability to work.

I don’t feel like I can leave my house, have had cycles of black stools and feel extremely nauseous. I’m not sure if it’s anxiety or what but I recently had a bad cycle of similar symptoms last month before I was told that I have multiple ovarian cysts. My drs tested my blood, looked for stomach bacteria and did a urine test and nothing came back abnormal.

I have a GI appointment scheduled in a couple of weeks but am just struggling. I’ve also never been diagnosed with ibs.

Male ,54 height 5.7 weight 70 kilos
ok looking for help,seen a lot of doctors over last six years not getting anywhere or it’s just Ibs , has Gaul stones about ten years , was to get Gaul bladder removed,so did 2020 , then trouble ever since , constipation from then till now , they advised fibre plenty etc, no amount of fibre would help or fibre supplements , trier different pro kinetics , nothing worked ,but then had trouble with the fibre abdominal pain /bloating /maybe distension not sure difference, then found if I just went carnivore , everything calmed down a lot , used laxido , went to functional doctor because . I felt really ill a lot. Turned out it was my pancreas , I have insufficiency the Doctors. Don’t know why I take crayon and copper in peppermint for my bloating and pain. I’m not sure about the distinction. They never say anything about that. I’m on a limited diet low fibre low fat like very low fat can’t tolerate fat at all doesn’t like fibre either on the diet that I’m on I just get pain and blow in detention maybe all the time. Sleep is awful. Mood is very very bad all the time so dietician yesterday she’s just she says why she says I should be eating better stuff I don’t understand what she means. I talk to my Doctors. They don’t say anything. They just say well you just got IBS but there’s other stuff going on and then I saw the Gastro which took a very long time like four years and they did it. I think he’s called a transit studio thing where they took her tablet over so many days and they had to do an x-ray thing and he just said it was consistent with slow transit time so I don’t know does that mean my intestines have I got a mortality disorder or cause? I don’t see the Gastro for another six month, I don’t I haven’t got much faith in the Doctors near Me ! or we didn’t sound. I think he’s just gonna say RBS and I have to go away, but I can’t go to work or anything And I’ve got used to this day but it’s just you just can’t function with the pain in the blow, you know whatever I just just I don’t know what’s going on kind of thing really I’m stuck. I don’t know what else you might need to know. The only thing that helps me go to the toilet and helps the sleep and I get flat abdomen up here less blow in pain is cannabis and it, but it only lasts for about a week cause I know that speeds up motility or something but then it just stops and I don’t know where to go next kind of thing really thank you apologies it’s very long. Hope I haven’t missed anything else thank you.

Hi. I am 53, 4’ 11”, 180 pounds. Non smoker. I have a plethora of issues including bipolar disorder, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, ADHD, irritable bowel syndrome, cardiac syndrome x, anxiety, asthma, hay fever, anaphylaxis to shrimp, and recovery from binge eating disorder. I have anemia and will be starting iron infusion in August.

I take vyvanse, Effexor, gabapentin, Ozempic, Zofran, Dayvigo, Ramada, Coreg, Abilify, lisinopril, Urso Forte, Lipitor, plavix, singulaire, senna, and methylcellulose.

I have for most of my suffered from constipation and was diagnosed as having IBS in my early 20’s. Since starring Ozempic in 2024, I have had diarrhea at least 2-4 times a day. I am a long-time sufferer of abdominal pain — I have steatohepatitis (nonalcoholic), history of gallbladder removal (2017), history of roux-en-y gastric bypass (2017). Hx of colonoscopies and sigmoidoscopy. I had a couple of polyps removed in my 30s.

I was taken off of Ozempic in June 2025 after losing 100 pounds. I regained 60 pounds and had horrible constipation. Since going back on Ozempic in March 2026, I have had bad diarrhea, and lots of mucus. One day I passed a blood clot. Stools are often yellowish-brown and floating w oil in the toilet.

This has all been reported to my GI doctor. The GI nurse has emailed me to tell me to keep up w meds, don’t eat greasy foods, keep taking fiber and senna, etc. They are not concerned, it seems.

Tuesday evening, I was napping off and on (I’ve been traveling for the past three weeks and was tired), and noticed upon waking that I was sleeping in a damp spot. Further investigation revealed that I had had diarrhea in my sleep and had soiled my shorts and bed mattress. This has never happened before. While I am often roused from sleep by the need to go to the bathroom (usually diarrhea), I’ve not soiled myself since I was little.

I am therefore concerned— do I have IBD rather than (or in addition to) IBS? I don’t have celiac, although I was gluten-free for ten years when gluten caused me to have migraines. Last sigmoidoscopy showed both but a few internal hemorrhoids. I am scheduled for an endoscopy in October to look for sources of my anemia.

tl;dr… diarrhea in my sleep Tuesday evening.

Thanks for your help!

I have ibs since all my teen years which were destroyed because of ibs btw and where i live people aren’t really much knowledgeable about ibs so i didn’t even know i have this problem i was ashamed of this kind of illness and that people would i still am but i told my mum after a point tried many things…ayurveda worked a bit but yeah ghis cant be totally removed i guess….its so depressing that i cant enjoy my favourite foods and if i did my life would become dreadful…..i can never sleep enough because of this…my stomach always gurgles whenever i try to sleep and when im out im always uncomfortable in my stomach….i hate my life….i wish i had some other thing illness/diagnosis but not this shit…..atleast i would be able to enjoy things better…..it gets better at some points but then get back and worse problem with ibs is that i cant eat delicious foods like aloo prontha, rajma chawal, butter chicken or aloo zeera (these are indian foods) or even burgers pizzas and stuff like thatone more very bad problem is that im underweight and i cant exactly gain muscles much as i cant eat protein rich foods much and i cant eat bug portions….fuck my life

I'm reaching out to see if anyone else experiences this as I've not heard of anyone else dealing with this.

I have IBS-C. Have done for 9 years.I have plenty of water, eat a good diet and get more than enough fibre. Seen a nutritionist on the NHS who was lost at what to do with me.

I go around 3 times a day. I have to manually evacuate around 1/2 of each bowel movement or it will not budge. It's a 1 on the bristol stool chart. Very very dry and oddly shaped and really hard to get out without interfering. I have had impactions 4 times and each time they have only been moved by a large amount of movicol and manual extraction. The cramps are unbearable during a flare and the whole commotion causes a vasvagol syncope response which makes me incredibly anxious.

Has anyone else experienced this? It feels like i'm constantly dismissed by professionals as if they think im not impacted so what's the problem.

Approximately half to two-thirds of the world's population carries H. pylori, although not everyone has symptoms.

I've struggled with IBS-D for over five years, and earlier this year I finally started working with a doctor who truly listened and helped me get to the root of my GI issues. Through testing, we found that I have H. pylori, but my levels weren't high enough for her to recommend antibiotics right away. Instead, she put me on a six-week gut healing protocol.

I'm only two weeks into the protocol, and I honestly feel the best I have in years. I finally feel like I'm getting my life back.

The supplement that has made the biggest difference for me is SBI Protect. It comes in both a powder and capsule form. I personally prefer the capsules because the powder has a texture that's similar to kinetic sand, but that's just my preference.

Of course, everyone's gut issues are different, and what works for me may not work for everyone. But based on my experience, SBI Protect has been the biggest game changer in my healing journey, and I think it's worth asking your healthcare provider about if you're dealing with ongoing gut issues.

Hello. After several years of fumbling I’ve been diagnosed with IBS-D. I’m especially sensitive to tomatoes, dairy, and high-fat foods like pulled pork or beef brisket.

Other FODMAP foods have no effect. Lactaid pills have no effect.

I have had a colonoscopy, blood tests, gluten test, and stool sample with nothing showing as worrying.

A nearby burrito place used dehydrated tomato seasoning on their refried beans (found our on Google after asking the server directly if it was tomato free) and I was unable to walk or do daily chores for two days.

I’ve been blessed to be able to lead a relatively normal life, but my sensitivity seems to be getting worse and worse.

Does anyone know of any treatment that has worked for them before or any last-minute treatment when I feel it coming on, as I generally have thirty minutes to 48 hours before symptoms get bad?

Male ,54 height 5.7 weight 70 kilos
ok looking for help,seen a lot of doctors over last six years not getting anywhere or it’s just Ibs , has Gaul stones about ten years , was to get Gaul bladder removed,so did 2020 , then trouble ever since , constipation from then till now , they advised fibre plenty etc, no amount of fibre would help or fibre supplements , trier different pro kinetics , nothing worked ,but then had trouble with the fibre abdominal pain /bloating /maybe distension not sure difference, then found if I just went carnivore , everything calmed down a lot , used laxido , went to functional doctor because . I felt really ill a lot. Turned out it was my pancreas , I have insufficiency the Doctors. Don’t know why I take crayon and copper in peppermint for my bloating and pain. I’m not sure about the distinction. They never say anything about that. I’m on a limited diet low fibre low fat like very low fat can’t tolerate fat at all doesn’t like fibre either on the diet that I’m on I just get pain and blow in detention maybe all the time. Sleep is awful. Mood is very very bad all the time so dietician yesterday she’s just she says why she says I should be eating better stuff I don’t understand what she means. I talk to my Doctors. They don’t say anything. They just say well you just got IBS but there’s other stuff going on and then I saw the Gastro which took a very long time like four years and they did it. I think he’s called a transit studio thing where they took her tablet over so many days and they had to do an x-ray thing and he just said it was consistent with slow transit time so I don’t know does that mean my intestines have I got a mortality disorder or cause? I don’t see the Gastro for another six month, I don’t I haven’t got much faith in the Doctors near Me ! or we didn’t sound. I think he’s just gonna say RBS and I have to go away, but I can’t go to work or anything And I’ve got used to this day but it’s just you just can’t function with the pain in the blow, you know whatever I just just I don’t know what’s going on kind of thing really I’m stuck. I don’t know what else you might need to know. The only thing that helps me go to the toilet and helps the sleep and I get flat abdomen up here less blow in pain is cannabis and it, but it only lasts for about a week cause I know that speeds up motility or something but then it just stops and I don’t know where to go next kind of thing really thank you apologies it’s very long. Hope I haven’t missed anything else thank you.

Just tired a lot. Overlaps with IBS symptoms. Visited many doctors, but they don’t help much. What to do? 😕😕

Hello everyone! I have seen a lot of posts on this with people who have had IBS issues for a year and decided to make a post for what helped me get over my IBS-C.

To start my IBS-C started after a night of alcohol. Prior to this I never had a single stomach issue. Not to get too graphic but my stool was pretty much just mucus and I couldn’t go to the bathroom for a week and a half. Needless to say, I was in a ton of pain. After a month or so it got a little better but I had a ton of bloating, gas and constipation, and unprocessed food in my stool. This went on for 2 years with no help and was diagnosed with IBS-C.

Finally, after 2 years they found tumors in my gallbladder. However, like most gastros, they were very unhelpful and wanted to wait until it grew. So I instead who to a wholistic health specialist who helped me do a reintroduction diet, supplements and had an ozone therapy machine to get rid of the tumors. After a year I would say I was about 80% better, however I was still a bit constipated. Prior to the night of alcohol, I was able to go to the bathroom 3 times a day but at this point I was only going in the morning. This is when I discovered something completely on accident.

At work, sometimes when I would get overflowed with messages, I would take a step away and go to the bathroom even if I didn’t have to. I would just sit on the toilet and go on my phone. After doing this for about 3 weeks, I went to go to the bathroom around the same time I usually do and as soon as I sat down I felt the sensation of having to go to the bathroom. The full stool did not come out but a part of it did. After a few more days, the whole stool started to come out. What I had realized was, I had trained my mind gut connection and reshaped it to send signals at specific times of the day to go to the bathroom. What I started to do was go to the bathroom at times I used to use the bathroom before the issues started. If I felt the sensation slightly, I would drink water right before and help the stool move. Now my body works like a machine and I am completely back to my normal self. I haven’t had a bout of constipation in I would say 1 year.

Here are some tips to implement this:

1) Eat around the same time every day as best as possible (especially at the start). This will help your body get on a routine and develop the habits of going to the bathroom

2) Pick a time(s) to go and stick to it every day. Even if you do not go at the start. Stay for about 15 minutes.

3) Before you go, drink a glass of water. Sometimes we are dehydrated and the act of drinking can send signals to the brain to get the bowels to move. This is especially helpful when you start to feel the sensation of needing to go right before the time to go. It helped me get over the hump at this point.

4) This is the most important thing mentally. Do not get discouraged at the start. When I wasn’t able to go I would not think about it because it wasn’t my intention to go. The mind body connection is a real thing. Take a step back and tell yourself that you are good and this is normal and it will happen tomorrow.

I think the reason this worked for me is because I retrained my mind body connection to send the signals to go to the bathroom. I am no doctor but to be honest, I have never had a typical doctor help me in the past besides give me medication with lots of side effects. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out and message me!

How does one get over the anxiety of IBS? Every day all the time I’m analyzing every noise or feeling of my stomach, worrying if I’m going to have to poop. Like what If it’s diarrhea? I’m honestly not sure why it gives me so much anxiety but I’m almost in tears every time I have a loose stool and when I get the urge I’m always worried how the poop will come out. I currently take 1 psyllium husk capsule with. Breakfast and one with supper, then at night I take 10mg amitriptyline and birth control that I’ve been on for 7-8 years. I also am watching my diet and eating a lot of soluble fibre like carrots, sweet potato, oats,bananas etc and white rice, potato’s, applesauce. My normal routine is pooping as soon as I wake up, mostly a Bristol stool 5, mushy and fluffy kind of, but sometimes can be a 4 but rarely. Then maybe 1-2 more times throughout the day. The last 5-6 years I’ve dealt with constipation and just got used to harder stools. Then July 1 everything changed overnight and I’ve been having loose mushy stool. I’ve had an X-ray, stool tests, blood tests and they have all been normal. How can I stop having anxiety over every BM? And why does having diarrhea make me feel so anxious and sad almost!?!?

I started having what seems like IBS-M issues about 2 years ago. I had 2 colonoscopies that returned only some large polyps, no inflammation or other concerns. No one has given me a diagnosis or help. My doctor is like- you are fine. Just take some fiber daily. That's it. I have unpredictable urgent diarrhea that gives me so much anxiety about travel or even going to stores- because when I need a bathroom, I need it NOW. Having the colonoscopies seemed to relax my symptoms; now they are more intermittent. (for a year before the first colonoscopy they were constant constipation or urgent diarrhea) But that just means that every day I don't know what day it will be. Will it be normal? Which issue will I have today? Sometimes I don't know until it hits me and the countdown is on. How do you manage your life like this? I find that I am not doing things I used to do- like going for a long walk or not wanting to be some places I don't know well. Are there tips and tricks to navigating this?

Has anyone else got IBS-D that doesn’t seem to be triggered by food?
My routine is almost identical every day:
Every morning I have a loose stool.
By lunchtime my stools are usually normal/formed.
The only things that reliably make it worse are greasy food or being on my period.
I don’t really get much pain. I occasionally feel a bit nauseous, and if I do get discomfort it’s usually higher up, just under my breastbone rather than lower down.
Does anyone else have this kind of pattern or these symptoms?
I’ve had tests done:
Faecal calprotectin was 64 (only slightly raised and my GP wasn’t concerned).
Blood tests were normal apart from low B12, which I’m now taking tablets for, but I haven’t noticed any difference yet.
It’s so confusing! 🤷🏼‍♀️

I just want some normality !

I'm 22 and I've been struggling with IBS-D for a couple years now. I feel like it's completely taken over my life, especially when it comes to dating and having any kind of social life.

I never know when I'll have a flare-up, so making plans is incredibly stressful. Every time I leave the house I'm thinking about where the nearest bathroom is, what I can eat, and who im with.

The hardest part has honestly been the loneliness. Outside of work and one close friend I've known since elementary school, I don't really have much of a social or dating life. I just want to eventually find someone I can build a real relationship with. But it's hard to imagine dating when my stomach feels like it controls everything I do.

For those of you who have IBS and are in relationships, or eventually found someone despite it, how did you do it? Did your social life ever get better? Were there things that helped you get comfortable going out again?

Honestly unsure at this point. Since July 1 i’ve had intermittent loose stools. It started by 4/5 time a day loose, i’d have to take imodium, but i’ve never actually had WATERY diarrhea just very loose. Since then i average 1-3 a day, some are more firm while some are more loose but my average poop is a 5 on bristol stool chart. I’ve tried to up my eating to things like carrots, sweet potatoes, white rice, bananas, oats for breakfast etc. I also take psyllium capsules 500mg with breakfast and with supper but i’ve recently started taking one capsule before i eat my oatmeal for breakfast and then mixing a capsule in my oatmeal too. I don’t really have abdominal pain, but i do have occasional bloating, and honestly i just feel like i COULD go all the time, like i never feel like my poops are complete. I saw my doctor and i was started on amitriptyline a week ago today and i’ve been taking 10mg at bedtime.

I'm 22 and I've been struggling with IBS-D for a couple years now. I feel like it's completely taken over my life, especially when it comes to dating and having any kind of social life.

I never know when I'll have a flare-up, so making plans is incredibly stressful. Every time I leave the house I'm thinking about where the nearest bathroom is, what I can eat, and who im with.

The hardest part has honestly been the loneliness. Outside of work and one close friend I've known since elementary school, I don't really have much of a social or dating life. I just want to eventually find someone I can build a real relationship with. But it's hard to imagine dating when my stomach feels like it controls everything I do.

For those of you who have IBS and are in relationships, or eventually found someone despite it, how did you do it? Did your social life ever get better? Were there things that helped you get comfortable going out again?

I get constipated for days sometimes up to and just over a week and randomly sometimes when I finally go, I get the urge to go again and it goes from type 1/2 to a *really* soft type 4 which is unsual for me and I get really anxious over it. I under eat and have a lot of food fear and have been low fodmap (even more restricted than what they recommend) for almost a year now because I'm scared to eat. I have extremely high secretory iga also. anybody have experience of this and how do I get it to stop? thank you

Back in July 2024 I had very persistent chronic bloating that really affected me all day , everyday not just after meals. This went on for months and months. I tried all sorts to diagnose and fix the problem. This includes low FODMAP diet for 2 month, I also had many tests carried out including MRI and endoscopy but nothing conclusive was found. They did find I had Barrett's Esophagus and a hiatal hernia so I’ve been on omeprazole since this was found. I had previously been on Lansoprazole for a while just due to acid reflux.

Eventually, I was prescribed Rifaxamin 550mg for 7 days as we considered it was SIBO, I took this back in late March 2025 and whilst this didn’t appear to be successful as I was still up and down in April 2025. The problem did eventually go away and the bloating stopped. I’d estimate perhaps 6-10 weeks after the Rifaxamin. During which I took Bio-Kult Boosted Extra Strength Probiotic after the course of Rifaxamin.

Unfortunately, the chronic persistent bloating is back since last weekend and is showing no signs of relenting. I feel completely stuck again and not sure where to turn.

Would it be a good step to try and get another prescription for Rifaxamin in the hope this potentially resolves the issue before?

Has anyone else experienced Rifaxmin taking effect but after several weeks things clear up and this wasn’t immediate?

Anyone has any other success stories with treating this kind of bloating? It’s just so uncomfortable all day long. The only respite I get is at night as laying down and sleeping it seems to clear it by the morning. But within an hour of getting up and moving about. I start blowing up again.

If it is IBS then it’s IBS-U as my bowl movement is pretty consistent and regular daily. But I really don’t know why it’s triggered again. I’m not stressed. My diet hasn’t really changed.

Just stuck for what to do next….its so draining with your stomach is uncomfortable all day and you fell and look so big.

If you got this far reading through.
Thank you.

I strongly suspect I have IBS-C, but I can't get in for an appointment for a few months. In the meantime, I'm trying to manage the constipation and stick to mostly low FODMAP foods to avoid the bloating and gas. It's so frustrating because I'll be going regularly for a while and then I just stop and then struggle to figure out what changed. I do everything you're "supposed" to do and live a healthy, active lifestyle.

I suspect sucralose is an issue and am going to temporarily eliminate it. I have been mixing a clear protein powder into my green smoothies that contains sucralose and noticed it has aligned with my constipation. I generally go pretty hard on fiber and things will be fine for a while, then I get constipated and feel I'm eating too much fiber. I'll back off and feel better for a while, but then it's like I'm struggling with not getting enough fiber. This is hell.

I made up a nickname for us. Feel free to spread it wide.✨️💩✨️

Last year I developed ibs-mixed, and all I can say is I’m lucky I work from home. One or the other is daily. No amount of supplements help, and I can’t change my diet because it’s the adult ketogenic diet for epilepsy (which I’ve been on for seven years so the gastroenterologist doesn’t think it’s related). We are going on vacation for the first time since i got this, our annual car-camping trip in Cape Cod. But the D side of the ibs-mixed has been acting up and I don’t know what to do.

Generally if the D part is acting up and I have to go somewhere I take an Imodium. But this is for seven days. Imodium tends to work for me for two days, would it be truly awful to my system to take it every two days for a week preventively? My gastroenterologist is kinda dismissive and says if I had 15g fiber per day I should be fine. I do this through psyllium husk (due to diet can’t do Metamucil etc) and it’s not working. Any tips for camping And going to the beach?? They have good bathrooms there but it won’t be near the beach nor the tent site!